The club started in 1908 as the Women’s Fortnightly Literary Club in Fort Macleod, Alberta. The first meeting was held February 22nd at the home of Mrs. S Loterer. The founder of the club felt that “women in a relatively new community needed an opportunity to learn more about the world.” (Jean McCall, “1907-1912 (Fortnightly Club History.)” Every two weeks the club provided women the chance to meet with other women and discuss current events, art, literature history, science, and other educational topics of general interest. Membership was by nomination and the entire group had to vote on new members. Because meetings were to be held in the home of a member the numbers where intentionally kept to a size where this would remain possible. Meetings were not held over the summer, so the “seasons” of the club cover the span of two years (i.e. autumn 1929 to spring 1930).
At each meeting a member would present a research paper on a topic that she had previously informed the group of, and then a discussion of the topic would follow. Sometimes this would include a slide presentation or other accompaniment. Informed discussion would be expected and in the early years of the group it was noted if a club member was prepared for the discussion or not. Lunch would also be served and current events would be discussed. The club secretary would take minutes of the meeting and club business would be voted on. Meetings could only be held if there were enough people present and over the years they were sometimes cancelled due to foul weather or epidemic.
The club has been involved with a number of other organizations. During the war years members would sew for the Red Cross at their meetings, sometimes coming together weekly (as in 1917) instead of bi-weekly. On these occasions one member would read aloud to the other women who sewed making bandages, sheets, towels, and other items for the war effort. In the 1940s the group moved that no iced cakes be allowed at the meeting as a war to support the war effort and because of sugar rationing. They also made donations, sometimes quite sizeable, to a varied number of charitable groups from all over the world. The club also sent representatives to the 1918 National Council of Women. At this time suffrage was a popular topic of discussion at meetings.
The club had a collection of books and a club librarian until 1993. In the early years of the club the town of Fort Macleod had no public library. By the early 1990s the town’s library was a part of the Chinook Arch Regional Library System and books could be brought in from the larger library in Lethbridge and others in surrounding towns easily so the club moved to dissolve the library and position of librarian. The books were donated to the school board.
In 2008 the club celebrated its centennial and the club held a dinner. Members examined the records of the club and each wrote a paper based on a different time period. The resulting papers are a combination of a summary of the club meeting minutes and other files and current events for the period. These papers can be found in the research papers listed below.
Resources:
MCCALL, JEAN. “1907-1912 (Fortnightly Club History.)”
SEGBOER, DARLENE. “100th Anniversary Paper-years 1913-1918 (History of the Fortnightly Club).”VAN MEIJEL, MARIA. “In Flanders Fields: Summary 1918-1923 (History of the Fortnightly Club.”
NIERS, CARLA. “Fortnightly During the Years 1923-1927.”
WALKER, JAN. “Fortnightly Club Centennial Presentation 1928-1932 (Club History).”
CRESSMAN, CAROL. “The Fortnightly Club 1933-1937.”
TILBE, JANNET. “1938-1943 (Fortnightly Club History.)”
GANNET, LINDA. “Fortnightly Between the Years 1943-1947.“
MCTROWE, EVELYN. “1948-1952 (History of the Fortnightly Club.”
REACH, RHONDA. “Our 100th Year (Fortnightly History 1953-1957).”
COMA, DEE. “1958-62” (History of the Fortnightly Club).
ASHLEY, LAUREL. 2008. “The Years of 1963-1967.” (History of the Fortnightly Club).
DAVIS, DORIS. “Centennial Years. (History of the Fortnightly Club.)”
KUDLIK, IRENE. “1978-82 (History of the Fortnightly Club.)”
RATCLIFFE, MARTHA. “Fortnightly, 1993-1997.”
KELLNER, GISELA. “Paper Covering the Club Years 1998 to 2002.”